Hand_Rifle_Guy
New member
I have aquired a Smith & Wesson M&P revolver Model of 1902, 2nd change, 32-20 cal, with a four digit serial number. Got it for a whopping $140. Research indicates this gun was in fact built in 1902. It has a five-inch barrel with a straight taper, like a Colt, and a round-butt grip with the checkering worn off from much handling. It has the remains of deep, mirror-bright bluing, but the right side has much finish lost because at some point the gun got moist while living in a holster. This gun has TINY LITTLE sights, with a notch so small you can barely see it, much less through it. The gun has a substantial heft to it, much more than comparable Colts of the time. I can't Imagine this gun chambered in .38 S&W, the only other caliber offered other than the .38 Special. It'd be like an "N" frame in .38 special: big gun, winky caliber.
The problem is bullets keyhole out of it!
On closer examination, a ring bulge at about the end of the ejector rod has revealed itself. Someone, during this revolver's LONG history, managed to stick a bullet in the bore and put another one into it.
I can't figure out when this happened, as this revolver displays a LOT of use. In addition to the worn checkering, the forcing cone shows severe erosion, there are anular blast rings etched into the face of the cylinder, and there is a neat blast cut in the topstrap, a la .357 maximum revolvers from a few years back. (An interesting point is the cut neatly misses the dish in the topstrap put there just for that purpose. .32-20 is longer than the .38 Special that premiered in this gun. The first mag-length cylinder, but no mag for 33 more years!) It certainly looks like this gun has digested a great deal of ammunition, something I find hard to reconcile with keyholing bullets. Note; it doesn't keyhole ALL of them, but who's counting once you find out?
The point of all this is that I really like this gun just the way it looks now. I've never seen another Smith with this barrel profile before, so I'm leery of having the gun re-barreled. In addition, the finish wouldn't match, and I love this gun's "lived in" character. I also don't want to change the caliber, as .32-20 in a handgun makes for a great shooter for a guy with a username like mine. It's not quite a .30 carbine, but it's more impressive than a .38 Spl.
Mechanically, the internal mechanism is in great shape, although it's a little weird-looking compared to the guts of more modern Smiths, and the ratchet and bolt stop notches are all in good condition. The trigger pull is pretty heavy, but only in D.A.. I don't plan on using this as a defense gun, just as another antique plinker, a class of gun my collection overflows with.
So I guess what I want to know is if it's possible to have the barrel removed, relined, and re-installed, and the face of the cylinder fixed, without it costing an arm, a leg, and my first-born child. That old bluing is amazing! I really want to preserve what's left of it. ( 75% or so) Eddie Janis of Peacemaker Specialties likes to work on old guns without re-finishing them, but I suspect old Smiths are not his usual fair. Does anyone know of any gunsmiths who might be willing to work on my 100-year-old revolver? I don't want to restore it, just make it work right again. A D.A. 32-20 is a pretty rare bird, and this one's a lot of fun to shoot, when it bothers to send the bullets to the right place.
I was going to buy this Colt Police Positive Special in .32-20, along with a six-inch barreled top-break Iver-Johnson in .38 S&W, but one-gun-a-month plus the stupid drop test idiocy put the kibosh on THAT plan...stupid state.
It really is a Smith & Wesson, as one hundred years ago no-one made stupid agreements with the Kriminal..er...Klinton administration to earn the designation of Sellout & Worthless.
The problem is bullets keyhole out of it!
On closer examination, a ring bulge at about the end of the ejector rod has revealed itself. Someone, during this revolver's LONG history, managed to stick a bullet in the bore and put another one into it.
I can't figure out when this happened, as this revolver displays a LOT of use. In addition to the worn checkering, the forcing cone shows severe erosion, there are anular blast rings etched into the face of the cylinder, and there is a neat blast cut in the topstrap, a la .357 maximum revolvers from a few years back. (An interesting point is the cut neatly misses the dish in the topstrap put there just for that purpose. .32-20 is longer than the .38 Special that premiered in this gun. The first mag-length cylinder, but no mag for 33 more years!) It certainly looks like this gun has digested a great deal of ammunition, something I find hard to reconcile with keyholing bullets. Note; it doesn't keyhole ALL of them, but who's counting once you find out?
The point of all this is that I really like this gun just the way it looks now. I've never seen another Smith with this barrel profile before, so I'm leery of having the gun re-barreled. In addition, the finish wouldn't match, and I love this gun's "lived in" character. I also don't want to change the caliber, as .32-20 in a handgun makes for a great shooter for a guy with a username like mine. It's not quite a .30 carbine, but it's more impressive than a .38 Spl.
Mechanically, the internal mechanism is in great shape, although it's a little weird-looking compared to the guts of more modern Smiths, and the ratchet and bolt stop notches are all in good condition. The trigger pull is pretty heavy, but only in D.A.. I don't plan on using this as a defense gun, just as another antique plinker, a class of gun my collection overflows with.
So I guess what I want to know is if it's possible to have the barrel removed, relined, and re-installed, and the face of the cylinder fixed, without it costing an arm, a leg, and my first-born child. That old bluing is amazing! I really want to preserve what's left of it. ( 75% or so) Eddie Janis of Peacemaker Specialties likes to work on old guns without re-finishing them, but I suspect old Smiths are not his usual fair. Does anyone know of any gunsmiths who might be willing to work on my 100-year-old revolver? I don't want to restore it, just make it work right again. A D.A. 32-20 is a pretty rare bird, and this one's a lot of fun to shoot, when it bothers to send the bullets to the right place.
I was going to buy this Colt Police Positive Special in .32-20, along with a six-inch barreled top-break Iver-Johnson in .38 S&W, but one-gun-a-month plus the stupid drop test idiocy put the kibosh on THAT plan...stupid state.
It really is a Smith & Wesson, as one hundred years ago no-one made stupid agreements with the Kriminal..er...Klinton administration to earn the designation of Sellout & Worthless.
) I'll try it then.
